20 Wend. 111 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1838
Assuming that the law will notice and enforce the right setup, and the sort of testimony introduced by the defendant, we perceive no foundation for granting a new trial, on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. There was enough to warrant the jury in finding for the.defendant. Nor can any fault be found with the judge’s charge, which put the defence to them with every qualification under which the most cautious judges have allowed the class of presumptive easements. He distinctly admonished them that before the defendant would be entitled to their verdict, they must be satisfied that there was a continuous adverse user, with the owner’s knowledge, of at least twenty years, during the absolute ownership of the plaintiff, and those under whom he claimed, without estimating the particular estates of the life tenants ; and that they must also find the acts imputed as a trespass to have been done within the boundaries as indicated by the ancient user. The verdict must, therefore, be taken as finding all these facts in favor of the defendant; and the case comes down to the two questions : 1. Is a public right of landing and deposit for all the citizens of the state known to the law % and 2. Will the law infer such a right from ancient and adverse user by all citizens indiscriminately 1
The claim is. not one of a temporary license, revocable at the will of the owner, but of a permanent legal estate, which is resembled to an individual right in fee; an incorporeal hereditament, exerciseable in the soil of another, vested, exclusive and absolute; and if to be allowed, depriving the plaintiff, in effect, of all future control over the premises except as a common occupant with his fellow citizens. The claim is novel in its character, justified by no direct precedent with us or in England; at least we are referred to none, and is to be drawn, if at all, mainly from
It was not denied, either on the trial or in argument at the bar, that a street, highway, or right of public passage, may be derived from a dedication, to be shown by the express assent of the owner of land, or inferred from an adverse user of twenty years. The English books are full to this point. Lade v. Shepherd, 2 Stra. 1004. Rex v. Lloyd, 1 Campb. 260. Roberts v. Karr, 1 id. 262, note (b.) Rugby Charity v. Mereweather, 11 East, 375, note. Jervis v. Dean, 3 Bing. 447. Rex v. Barr, 4 Campb. 16. This principle has been adopted by several courts of the United States. Denning v. Roome, 6 Wendell, 651, 656 to 658. Wyman v. Mayor, &c., of New-York, 11 id. 486, and vide 8 id. 105. Pritchard v. Atkinson, 3 N. Hamp. R. 335. 4 id. 10, S. C. and S. P. Commonwealth v. McDonald, 16 Serg. & Rawle, 390. Estes v. The Inhabitants of Troy, 5 Greenl. 368. Hollerman v. The Commonwealth, 2 Virg. Cas. 135. Rowell v. The Inhabitants of Montville, 4 Greenl. 270. The State v. Campton, 2 N. Hamp. R. 513. State v. Wilkinson, 2 Verm. R. 480. The State v. Gregg, 2 Hill’s R. 387. Such also is the law of Scotland. Harvey v. Rogers, 3 Bligh, N. S. 440, cot appeal to the house of lords. And of Ireland. Fitzpatrick v. Robinson, 1 Huds. & Br. 585. The decisions on the point in Massachusetts are not very explicit; but evidently tend to the same result. Hinckley v. Hastings, 2 Pick. 162. Commonwealth v. Low, 3 id. 408. Reed v. Inhabitants of Northfield, 13 id. 94. In Louisiana, the code denies all claim by prescription to rights of servitude which in their nature are discontinuous or interrupted, Lou. Code, art. 723 ; and such are ways. Broussard v. Etie, 11 Lou. R. by Curry, 394. Our own code, on the contrary, has long expressly recognized the prescriptive right in a public highway. Formerly the user must have been 20 years previous to and next preceding the 21st of March, 1797, 1 R. L. of 1801, p. 595 ; 2 id. of 1813, 277, § 24, and this court seems to have considered itself bound to allow no claim founded
In short, it seems to be well settled by the supreme court of the United States, by several courts in the neighboring states, to which we may, perhaps, add the court of chancery in this state, that dedications of land for religious and charitable purposes, as well as for public ways, and squares, commons,"parks, and other easements in nature of ways, are to be upheld, although there be no person in esse capable of taking as, a grantor at the time. It was remarked by Mr. Justice Thompson, in Cincinnati v. White’s lessee, 6 Peters’ U. S. R. 436, that “the principle, if well founded in law, must have a general application to all appropriations and dedications for public use, where there is no grantee in esse to take the fee.” He adds, “ This forms an exception to the rule applicable to private grants, and grows out of the necessity of the case.” These remarks comprehend -¿very conceivable case where a man has furnished evidence of a clear intent to give up his real estate for the purposes of any legitimate public use: and pursuing the parallel between highways and other public objects, the latter will stand in every variety capable of establishment by the usual proof of 20 years adverse enjoyment. A public right of landing and deposit on the shores of the ocean, or of bays and rivers, is included j and thus we reach the claim as introduced by the present defendant and found by the jury. Between the positive aid of the court of chancery, and the rule of law which sanctions the right of a prospective grantee, though acting merely to religious, charitable and educational ends, will be found to cover a very large field which has heretofore remained pretty much uncultivated. This was in some measure shown by Chancellor Mattocks, while considering the case of Burr’s Ex’rs v. Smith; and with regard to public easements of a merely temporal character, establishments for the benefit of the trading and agricultural as well as the travelling community, one can hardly suppose
I have said that the claim of the defendant is novel. I think it will appear that by English authority binding upon us, it has
The law of England coming to us with such restrictions, we now see why no attempt has been there made to press the doc
Then have we any adjudged cases in our own or otherstates or of the United States, which bind us to depart so widely from the common law 1 None in New-York, certainly, which go beyond the right of way or urban pleasure grounds ; and I think we shall hereafter see, in Cortelyou v. Van Brunt, a refusal to go farther. This court have never gone beyond streets and roads; and though the court of chancery has proceeded to city and village squares and commons, it still stands far short of the doctrine now claimed of exclusive appropriation. If it has allowed the possibility of a grant without a grantee, and thus ■opened a new road to prescription, no one has yet been allowed
In Waters v. Lilley, 4 Pick. 145, 148, the supreme court of Massachusetts adopted the law as laid down in Gateward's case. The defendant fished in the plaintiff’s pond, and being sued in trespass offered to prove an immemorial custom for all the inhabitants of the vicinity to take fish in the pond. Parker, Ch. J., who delivered the opinion of the court, said the custom was one that could not be sustained in law. “If such a right is available at all, it must be set up by prescription, &c. and should be pleaded with a que estate.” He cited Gateward’s case, and Grimstead v. Marlowe. A subsequent defence in the same court, which seems to me to have depended on the same principle, met with a different reception. In Coolidge v. Learned, 8 Pick. 504, the defendant pleaded a prescriptive right for all
Then is the case altered by any statutory provisions or other institutions applicable to Long Island ? Or by any proceedings to create, ascertain or assert a claim to the particular place in question! There were some peculiarities in the Long Island system of roads, which led the legislature, at an early period, to embody the statute regulations for this district by themselves, 2 R. L. of 1801, p. 191, and they have been so continued in all the subsequent revisáis. 2 R. L. of 1813, p . 304. 3 R. S. of 1830, 2d ed. 243. But these did not, at first, consist in any connection of highways with public landings and watering places : for, it was admitted on the argument, that the latter occur for the first time in the statute of 1813, section 1,2, where they are grouped with roads, and placed under the direction of the commissioners of highways in respect to regulating, opening, and altering them, but not as to creating or discontinuing them. The landings and watering places are spoken of as having been laid out¿ or hereafter to be laid out, and the second section treats them as being recorded, and prescribes the power of the commissioners in removing obstructions and encroachments, and opening them to their recorded width. The 5th section, p. 307, gives an appeal from the commissioners to three county judges, for the purpose of reviewing any regulation of, or refusal to regulate a public landing or watering place; and directs the mode of proceeding and declares its effect. In the main, these provisions are retained by the
It is clear to my mind, even if the certificate of the jury were, in a proper case, to have the effect of a judgment between these parties, that the matter was equally beyond their jurisdiction as it was beyond that of the commissioners. As remarked by Chief Justice Nelson, in the case cited, the only way in which they could act favorably to a landing, would be indirectly, by exerting their statute powers for establishing and preventing encroachment on a highway, leading to and connecting with it. In this respect, as to subject matter, the powers of the commissioners and jury are commensurate j the commissioners may lay out de novo, or describe and record an old highway j and the jury settled the question of encroachment upon highways, where the point is disputed ; but the power does not extend to landings. Independent of what I take to have been the plain intent of the legislature, a landing, even though for the purposes of direct transit, is more than a highway. The relative rights, both of owner and passenger in a highway, are perfectly understood and familiarly dealt with by the law. Subject to the right of mere passage, the owner of the soil is still absolute master. \The horseman cannot stop to graze his steed, without being a trespasser ; it is only in case of inevitable, or at least accidental detention, that he can be excused even in halting for a moment. The landing of wagons, horses and passengers on the shores of a river, a sea or an ocean, even though it be upon a dedicated or recorded highway on the land connecting with the watery way, and for the direct purpose of going onward, is still a trespass on the riparian owner, unless we could suppose such acts to be performed with
To what cases the words public landings and watering places, which have found their way into the statute concerning Long Island are to be applied, we are still left to conjecture. The statute goes farther than to suppose a mere prescriptive or customary existence 3 it takes them to have been laid out : or hereafter to be laid out: so far using words applicable to highways, which are laid out by commissioners under prescribed forms : 2 R. S. of 1813, p. 304,5. 3 R. S. of 1830, p. 243 ; vid. also 2 R. L. of
I will merely add, upon the main question, that considering our extensive lines of coast, immense, when we take into the account our seas, lakes and rivers ; the long public enjoyment throughout, of landings on mere courtesy, and under the notion, I am persuaded, of mere license revocable when the resort should become inconvenient; considering the like circumstances in respect to other objects, such as watering places at the shore and in creeks? springs and wells ; a rule of law, which should admit the possibility of turning such enjoyment into prescriptive and absolute right on the part of the public, would open a field of litigation? which no community could endure. What is still worse in a moral point of view, it would be perverting neighborhood forbearance and good nature, to the destruction of important rights. We shall do quite enough for the public, I imagine, by giving them dedicated streets and ways; and at any rate, if we shall hereafter
Our remarks, so far as they regard the identity of the landing-with a mere right of way, are made more especially in respect to the defence of Mr. Hewlett, who is sued by the present plaintiff,, for acts which he claims to have performed as a commissioner of highways, in working the locus in quo, and maintaining his ground there, by assaulting the plaintiff, who came and sought to expel him. Neither his own proceedings, in conjunction with his-brother commissioners, nor those before the justice and jury, can protect him, for there was no jurisdiction. So far as the evidence offered in that case went to a user, for the purposes of a public landing, we have seen that it was inadmissible, as not going to-confer a right on any one.
In no possible view, if we are correct in saying that dedication is predicable only of a highway, can the defendant Post be protected throughout, for he not only entered and removed? the plaintiff’s fence, but deposited manure on his land. Clearly this-would bean injurious excess, and a trespass upon the soil of any highway» But Hewlett offered to show in addition, that he confined himself to a dedicated highway. He too, entered, not for the purpose of passage, but to repair by ploughing down a knoll1 into a marsh. I say nothing of the supposed benefit to the-plaintiff. It was correctly answered, nor is any point made to-the contrary, that an owner’s soil can not be legally entered and worked by another, under any pretence of supposed benefit. As a private citizen, and without authority from the overseer of highways, Hewlett might pass, but could not legally stop and makesepairs.
Ordered accordingly.